Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a video conference with philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Thursday to discuss the global coronavirus pandemic, officials said.
“We discussed issues ranging from India’s efforts to fight coronavirus, work of the (Gates Foundation) in battling Covid-19, role of technology, innovation and producing a vaccine to cure the pandemic,” Modi tweeted.
In response, Gates thanked Modi for the “conversation and partnership.”
“Combating the pandemic requires global collaboration. India’s role is key as the world works to minimize social and economic impact, and pave the way to the vaccine, testing, and treatment access for all,” he tweeted.
During the meeting, Modi also spoke about previous government initiatives like promoting cleanliness and hygiene, and drawing upon the ancient Indian healing system of Ayurveda to boost immunity, according to a news release on his website.
India has reported more than 82,000 cases of coronavirus and at least 2,649 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
